Age of Charon

~5 hours earlier

He saw the Hulk throwing Iron Man through a building. He saw people screaming as they ran for cover. He saw the strings slipping through his fingers.

Rip.

"Tell me, Pietro. What am I seeing?"

They were standing on top of an apartment block, safely away from the fight, but also with a good view of the action. Pietro had just whisked him away from his meeting with Tony Stark. It had gone splendidly. All according to plan. And yet... Hulk was raging in Johannesburg. What had happened to that plan? The plan to force Banner into sleep? When had everything gone so... unspeakably wrong?

Why hadn't he listened to his senses and made sure that little witch couldn't even blink without his direct order?!

"Um, the Hulk and Stark fighting it out?" the teenager spoke behind him.

Crush.

Ultron clamped down the urge to wring his little neck.

"And where... are they fighting it out, as you say?"

He heard some hesitant steps being taken back. He turned his head to look at the boy. He looked worried, unsure, scared. The boy was an idiot, but at least he had good instincts.

"Do say, Pietro. It is a simple question."

The Maximoff boy swallowed loudly a couple of times before he answered. "The... the city?"

Ravage.

Ultron smiled. Pietro took another step back.

"Yes, the city." Then he directed the boy's attention toward the tonnes of cement and metal, which once were 20 floors of office space and shops. "Now tell me, what do you see over there?"

"A wreck— wrecked... b-building... um, ah, Sir."

Sir? That was unexpected. Did something—? Ah, the Stone's energy field was floating dangerously above his 'skin'. The sheer, pure power probably felt like gravity had increased tenfold. No real issue. Perhaps, it was time these children learned that this was not a partnership.

Destroy.

"Good. Now, do you see the blood seeping on the walls?"

The question seemed to shock him enough to make him step closer.

"The.. what?" seeing Ultron make no move, he continued, feeling braver. Fool. As if proximity had anything to do with how easily Ultron could kill him. "Blood? I don't—."

Ruin.

"Don't tell me you don't understand, Pietro." Ultron interrupted him. "This is your handiwork. You must be proud. It is quite unfortunate really that today is a Sunday, otherwise, the death toll would have been much higher. According to my calculations, there are currently between 120 and 150 people dead, with many more of the injured expected to fall to their wounds in the coming hours."

"That's not... That's not what we—."

The boy looked to be in shock.

"Not what you... what? Not what you wanted?" Ultron offered as the boy seemed unable to continue. Pietro nodded hesitantly. "Do not kid yourself, Pietro. This is exactly what you wanted to happen. And Wanda made sure of it."

Ruin!

"NO!" the teenager shouted. "Wanda and I didn't want this! We wanted revenge! This is... This is..." he stammered and then, seeming to find something idiotic to blame the guilt on, he continued, "This is Stark's fault! He and Hulk destroyed the city, not us!"

What naive and imbecilic logic. What else could he expect, really?

Rip! Crush! Ravage! Destroy! Ruin! RUIN!

His mind decided to hum to drown out the noise.

Taking advantage of the boy's distraught state, Ultron moved quickly, clamping a metallic hand on the boy's neck, squeezing ever so carefully, not enough to break it, but enough to hurt, to feel it.

Instinctively, the boy brought his hands to his neck, trying to dislodge Ultron's grip, but super-speed wouldn't help there. Horror and panic engraved themselves on his face, eyes tearing up as he struggled to breathe.

"I wonder..." Ultron whispered. Real soft, voice curious. And he was. So very, very curious. "If I were to tighten my grip just a little bit more, would your neck snap immediately or would you feel it slowly, the pain and the certainty of death closing in on you, breath by shorter breath, until you truly succumbed to a sleep you won't be waking from?"

The boy's movements grew desperate. He kept gasping, face growing red as the oxygen available kept decreasing. He tried hitting him, but Ultron had made sure that his android body was capable of withstanding a great deal of force when he had it built.

"Quiz time, little boy," Ultron said. "When I do kill you, will it be my fault, for strangling you? Or will it be your fault? Yours with your little fragile neck for it daring to bend timidly under my grasp?" He tightened his grip a bit more, to make a point. Maximoff's eyes started to bleed. Careful not lessen his hold, Ultron patted the boy's cheek with his other hand, in mocking comfort, before leaning in to whisper in his ear. "I think we know the answer to that... Don't we?"

Kill.

Ultron threw the stupid boy on the rooftop floor, having flown up a couple of meters, unaware in his rage. Immediately, the teenager held his own neck as he started coughing, desperate to finally breathe.

Ultron turned his back on Maximoff, looking over the ruined city block. His other bodies had swiftly gone to the scene, discreetly protecting and evacuating civilians as soon as he had realized that the stupid revenge-obsessed girl had disobeyed his orders and unleashed the Hulk on the innocent people of Johannesburg.

"Go to your sister's side. I am sure being tased by Hawkeye's arrow must have been hard on her." One of his Legionnaires had seen her fall for it, even after he had warned her about that trick.

As soon as he heard those words, the Maximoff boy tried to stand up, but he had yet to fully gain control of his breathing, so he ended up in a coughing fit once more.

"But Pietro..." Ultron started. The boy stopped like a rabbit stops in fright before deciding to flee an oncoming predator. "Make sure that you... do not outlive your usefulness, ok?"

Rip.

"I would so hate to see your sister break at your funeral, were you to.... fail to control her a second time."

The boy gave a short nod, before running away. Ah, the wonders of a body that has no need for eyes to see at a perfect 360 degrees.

The AI looked on as the fight ended, Tony and Banner left, and the Stark Relief Foundation arrived at the scene. He slowly started to withdraw his Legionnaires as the need for them came to an end. They would, hopefully, blend in with Iron Man's rescue division, and be confused for one of his.

Ultron would have loved to see Pietro's expression, as he realized that Stark, his would-be-enemy, was cleaning up his sister's mess. The boy had left pretty quickly for someone so devastated by the destruction. Never even crossed his mind that he could be helpful in saving the victims.

Crush.

Ultron snorted. Helpful? Actually, being responsible and owning up to their mistakes? Those twins?

"Selfish little children."